Sorry for the late post on this, I sent a co-conspirator of mine out to Madison to visit the newest Madison brewery, Karben4. While he was there, he was able to get an interview with Ryan Koga, the head brewer. Enjoy!!
Ryan first worked in a brewery while he was attending
graduate school in Billings, Montana. It
started as “helping a friend” by picking up shifts on the bottling line at
Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company. His
“a-ha beer moment” came on that same bottling line. He told me “I didn’t really know anything
about beer when I started”. But one day
he decided he needed to know what was actually going into these bottles that he
was filling. He grabbed an oatmeal stout
right off the line and everything else is history. It’s official… Ryan is most certainly a Beer
Geek (oh and he’s originally from Appleton)!
Karben4 Brewing has moved into Ale Asylum’s old place on
Kinsman BLVD (in Madison). However, when
I first stepped into the taproom, it’s easy to see that they have been hard at
work since moving in. The taproom has
been almost entirely redone. There is
now a much larger bar and it wraps around the corner instead of the ‘one-sided’
bar set-up AA previously had. The new
space is much more open and also has new artwork that caught my eye. The artist is Ryan’s old time friend Tom…
I’ve heard rumors he is also going to be involved in designing the artwork for
the labels. I think you’ll understand
why I’m excited to see the final product once you have seen the paintings
inside the taproom.
“I am the only
brewer on staff now. My other partners (Zak and Alex) help me out when I need
it, but they fulfill other crucial roles. We'll hire more staff as the demand
requires.” He is working with a 15bbl brew house that was partially acquired from AA when
they took over the building. Ryan also
purchased and installed 3 new 30bbl fermentation tanks. I was lucky enough to get a sample of the
SamuRyePA (pre-filtration), straight from one of these new fermenters. I will admit, I was caught up in the moment;
but the ‘not-quite-ready’ sample went down like candy and smelled like a bowl
of fruit loops. I am looking forward to
sampling the final product at the soft opening tonight (December 28).
Once everything is firing on all cylinders Karben4 will have
5 flagship beers; a smoked porter, an amber ale, an APA made with rye (SamuRyePA),
a session ale and an Irish red. They
will also offer a ‘rotator’ IPA, with a different version for each season. The first of which will be a Black IPA. Avaliable on tap for the soft opening will be
the NightCall (the smoked porter), SamuRyePA and BlockParty (the amber
ale).
When I asked Ryan what his favorite style of beer is he said
it really depends on his mood. His favorite
kind of beer is a beer that is well balanced and original. Some of his all-time favorites include
Rogue’s Dry Hopped Red, Founder’s Breakfast Stout and Montana Brewing Company’s
Expresso Porter. When it comes to his
own beers, the Irish Red is his favorite in the winter and the SamuRyePA is his
summer favorite.
Ryan’s advice to hombrewers is pretty simple. “Take good notes and do your research”. When developing his own recipes he does as
much research as possible; opinion pieces, culinary reviews on specific
ingredients, histories, other recipes, etc.
He believes he can put more of himself in a beer if he knows the history
of the style and each component. He also
said a high school chemistry book is always good to have on hand!
Then I asked him if he had any advice for someone interested
in starting a craft brewery. His initial
comment was “Do more research!” They
prepare for the worst and hope for the best, making sure to pay close attention
to every detail. “We make our own luck”